Michelle Obama: ‘We Are in the Midst of a Huge Recovery’

(CNSNews.com) – First Lady Michelle Obama said in a radio interview on Friday that the United States is in the “midst of a huge recovery” because of what “this president has done.”

Pablo Sato, co-host of Pablo & Free on WPGC 95.5, a Washington, D.C.-area hip-hop radio station, asked the first lady: “Mrs. Obama, you know what, in your words, tell us what you think the state of the union is in right now?”

Mrs. Obama said, “I mean, we are seeing right now that we are in the midst of a huge recovery. Right? Because of what this president has done.”

Free: “Yes.”

Obama: “Pulled this economy from the brink of collapse when we were losing 800,000 jobs a month. Now were gaining every -- throughout most of his presidency, we’ve been adding jobs to this economy because of what he’s been doing. The stock market has doubled. Housing prices are rising. Foreclosure rates are lowering. But in the face of that, you still have people trying to convince us that things aren’t better.”

Free: “Uh huh.”

Obama: “And that just doesn’t make sense. Now, Barack of all people knows that we still have a long way to go to completely rebuild the economy. But we’re headed in the right direction. And when you see all of that truth, it’s hard to understand why are people blocking this? Why are people talking about not raising taxes on wealthy people? Why is it that people don't want to fight to make sure that veterans have job opportunities?”

Free: “They just like to talk, Mrs. Obama.”

Obama: “Yeah. Yeah.”

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012, down from 2.0 percent from first quarter 2012.

The BEA data also show GDP growth of (negative) - 3.1 percent in 2009; 2.4 percent in 2010; and 1.8 percent in 2011.

In addition, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the national unemployment rate is 7.8 percent, the same rate as when Barack Obama was inaugurated as president in January 2009.